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Trying the 52 Week Money Challenge

For the last week I saw this image floating around Facebook and blogs. I looked at it but I didn’t pay much attention to it. I understood that you had to set aside money but thought it was daily and knew that would’ve been impossible.
52 week money challengeHere is a downloadable/printable version from my frugal friend Lisa Lightner from her Easy Savings post.

On Friday I took an extra moment to REALLY read about it and figured this was something we could definitely do. Right now finances are tough but we can definitely gather the $1, $2, $3 and $4 to put away. The 52 Week Money Challenge is a simple way to force yourself to save money each week. Will it make you rich? NO! But at the end of the year you’ll have a nice chunk of money to go towards a vacation, room makeover, new car, tuition or whatever you want.

Rob and I instantly gathered up the change in my wallet and an archaic container to hold each weeks deposit. The crafty mama in me cringes as I look at it but I knew if I didn’t put that money away instantly we’d quickly lose interest and forget.

So I superglued a Chinese Wonton Soup container closed, cut a slit in the top and with a Sharpie wrote down the weeks that have been deposited. I have $6 in my wallet so it all went in. I also wrote down 1, 2, 3 so we’d know where we were during the process.
saving money, 52 week money challenge
Right now adding a couple bucks doesn’t seem hard but when it comes to October-December, close to the holidays it will get harder. We’ll find excuses not to put money in it but we have to be determined to get to $1378. The system can be switched to start with $52 deposit this week working your way to $1. Right now I don’t have those funds so we’re gonna do it this way.

Don’t think that you HAVE to physically add dollar bills to a piggy bank. You can set up  new savings account through your bank and arrange direct deposit so that it can be done online.  I thought it would benefit us if we could actually SEE the money being stashed away, like an encouragement.  It it works against us then we will be moving it to a financial institution.

Crossing our fingers!